Abstract
The Effect of Narcissism and Social Media on Work Outcomes Amongst Part-time Employees, Over and Above Their Demands and Resources
13th EAOHP Conference: Book of Proceedings, p.47
European Academy of Occupational Health Psychology: Adapting to rapid changes in today's workplace, 13th (Lisbon, Portugal, 05-Sep-2018–07-Sep-2018)
2018
Abstract
Introduction: Gen Y (born 1977-1995) and Gen Z (born after 1996) are often characterised as self-absorbed and technology-obsessed workers who are more narcissistic and less engaged than older employees. The current study explored whether narcissism and social media use (over and above personal resources, demands and resources at work) predict work engagement, organisational commitment, job satisfaction, and turnover intentions. It was hypothesised that narcissism and use of social media would be significantly higher amongst Gen Y and Z and that more narcissistic individuals would be less engaged, committed and satisfied in their work, and more likely to leave, over and above their individual differences and working conditions. Methods: Volunteers (N=218, 81.7% female) were recruited from a convenience sample of parttime, employed undergraduate students at a regional Australian university. Participants completed demographics (e.g., age, gender), personal characteristics (dispositional optimism, general self-efficacy, narcissism [Narcissistic Personality Inventory, Ames, Rose & Anderson (2005), 16 forced-choice statement pairs]), workplace characteristics (e.g., job demands, hours/week, job autonomy, skill discretion, co-worker support, ease and use of technology), and whether their use of social media (SM) was helpful or interfered with their workday. The outcomes were work engagement, job satisfaction, affective commitment, and turnover intentions, with hierarchical multiple regressions (HMRs) used to explore their predictors. Variables were added in the following order: demographics and personal characteristics (Block 1), workplace characteristics (Block 2), and effects of social media use (Block 3). Results: Participants were aged from 17 to 64 years (M=25.9, SD=10.9) and worked part-time between 3 and 44 hours/week (M=16.84, SD=8.71) in mostly casual (65.1%) positions. Most used Facebook (92.7%) or Instagram (63.8%) than other forms of SM and did so several (57.3%), a few times (21.6%) or once (7.8%) a day. Narcissism had a slightly negative, but non-significant correlation with age (r= -.088, p= .197), but significant positive correlations with finding technology useful (r= .159, p= .019) and easy to use (r= .209, p= .002), and with SM interfering (r= .170, p= .012) or being helpful (r= .182, p= .007) for work. The HMRs had large and significant effects, explaining substantial variance, e.g., job satisfaction, 59.4%. Narcissism did not significantly predict any of the outcomes, nor did participants' age, hours worked, whether they found technology easy to use, or if SM interfered or was helpful for work. In the final models, greater autonomy, skill discretion, and co-worker support (all ps < .001) significantly predicted greater work engagement, more job satisfaction and affective commitment and fewer turnover intentions. Additionally, increasing job demands were strong and significant predictors of reduced job satisfaction. Discussion: The current study explored narcissism within the workplace. Rather than being associated with a generation, narcissism appears more likely to be a dispositional trait. Part-time employees of any age or disposition will remain engaged in the work, satisfied with the conditions, and feeling committed and likely to remain when they have sufficient autonomy and ability to use their skills, they have supportive co-workers, and their work involves reasonable, rather than excessive, demands.
Details
- Title
- The Effect of Narcissism and Social Media on Work Outcomes Amongst Part-time Employees, Over and Above Their Demands and Resources
- Authors
- Prudence M Millear (Author) - University of the Sunshine CoastRoxane L Gervais (Author)
- Contributors
- Kevin Teoh (Editor)Nathalie Sadde (Editor)Vlad Dediu (Editor)Juliet Hassard (Editor)Luis Torres (Editor)
- Publication details
- 13th EAOHP Conference: Book of Proceedings, p.47
- Conference details
- European Academy of Occupational Health Psychology: Adapting to rapid changes in today's workplace, 13th (Lisbon, Portugal, 05-Sep-2018–07-Sep-2018)
- Publisher
- European Academy of Occupational Health Psychology
- Date published
- 2018
- ISBN
- 9780992878641
- Organisation Unit
- School of Social Sciences - Legacy; University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland; Engage Research Lab; School of Health - Psychology; School of Health and Behavioural Sciences - Legacy
- Language
- English
- Record Identifier
- 99451436702621
- Output Type
- Abstract
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